( fl c. 1290–1320). Italian painter. One of the major painters of the early 14th century, he is named after the panel of St Cecilia Enthroned (Florence, Uffizi), originally from the altarpiece of St Cecilia, Florence, and almost certainly painted before 1304; the saint is flanked by scenes from her life (see fig.). In addition to a group of stylistically homogeneous panels located in and around Florence, four frescoes from the cycle of the Legend of St Francis in the Upper Church of S Francesco, Assisi, are widely accepted as his. The work of this painter belongs to and possibly initiated a strand of Florentine painting running parallel to, but distinct from, that influenced by Giotto. Descriptions of his style that emphasize its miniaturist tendencies ignore other and more monumental aspects. These are seen in the central figure of the St Cecilia altarpiece and to a lesser extent in a panel of the Virgin and Child with Saints (Florence, S Margherita a Montici). The design and modelling of the face of St Cecilia are not far removed from that of the Virgin in the Altarpiece Badia attributed to Giotto (Florence, Uffizi), and the St Cecilia Master may have had more contact with Giotto than has often been allowed. The narrative scenes of the St Cecilia panel and a panel of St Margaret with Six Scenes from her Life (Florence, S Margherita a Montici) reveal a contrasting and quite un-Giottesque character. Figures are dainty, tapering up to small heads, and they move with a nervous but graceful urgency. The scenes from St Cecilia’s life are set within remarkably refined and attenuated architectural settings, realized with great precision. A panel of St Peter Enthroned (Florence, S Simone), which has the same sharply receding throne and is in other ways very close to this group, is dated 1307.

Part of the Masters, anonymous, and monogrammists family

• St Cecilia Master (fl 1290-1320)
  • Assisi, §II, 2(iv): S Francesco: The Legend of St Francis
  • Buffalmacco
  • Florence, §II, 1(i): Art life and organization, before c 1400
  • Masters, anonymous, and monogrammists, §I: Master of the Legend of St Francis
  • Pacino di Bonaguida
  • Stefano Fiorentino
  • attributions
    • Giotto, §I, 3(iii)(a): Assisi and related works: The Assisi debate
  • works
    • Gothic, §IV, 5(v): Painting: Italy, c 1265–c 1320